1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a presentation effect device for use in a gaming machine, and more specifically to a presentation effect device which is provided as a top box of a gaming machine to carry out a presentation effect using emission of light.
2. Background of the Related Art
Conventionally, various effects have been provided in accordance with the progress of a game. The presentation effects includes those using sound, moving images, moving objects such as a doll, as well as light. The presentation effect using light has been carries out by providing various lamps in a housing of the gaming machine so as to light extinguish or blink the lamps with various colors light in accordance with the progress of the game.
For example, the applicant has offered a gaming machine having a top box device with which characters and a movable window are provided. The characters are a little pig living in a straw house, a little pig living in a wooden house and a little pig living in a brick house. The movable window is provided in each of the straw house, the wooden house and the brick house. Each window is structured to be openable and closable.
In this gaming machine, the game progresses so that it is possible to win a prize corresponding to any of the little pig living in a straw house, the little pig living in a wooden house or the little pig living in a brick house described above.
Then, when winning a prize in relation to “the little pig living in a straw house”, a player can visibly recognize “the little pig living in a straw house” through the window of the straw opened resultingly. Likewise, the window of the wooden house is opened upon winning a prize in relation to “the little pig living in a wooden house”, and the window of the brick house is opened upon winning a prize in relation to “the little pig living in a brick house”. On the other hand, when the character-winning game is not played or a prize in relation to the character cannot be acquired, the window is in the closed state so that little pigs cannot be visible recognized.
In this manner, a player can visibly recognize the character, the little pigs, when the window is opened, while a player cannot visibly recognize the character when the window is closed.
As described above, the conventional top box device for the gaming machine has been known which carries out the presentation effect capable of changing from the state where it is possible to visibly recognize the character, the little pigs, to the state where it is impossible to visibly recognize the character by opening and closing the window (for example, refer to Publication of US Patent Application No. 2011/117998).
As described above, the conventional gaming machine has changed from the state where it is possible to visibly recognize the character as an object to be visibly recognized to the state where it is difficult to visibly recognize the object by physically opening and closing a window. In this manner, the presentation effect in which a window in front of a character is opened and closed so that the character formed as an object to be visibly recognized can be visibly recognized by a player in accordance with a won prize is effective as a presentation effect display.